Monster Rewritten
by Your Mom's A Wookie
Summary: In the time of Scar's reign, Nala births a cub that she doesn't really want. As it grows, it struggles with its heritage, its mother's cold shoulder, and its place in the world. Inspired by the song "Monster" by Meg and Dia
1. Chapter 1

Monster is a story I was writing 5 years ago. I had a very detailed timeline, character sheets, the lyrics typed up with paragraphs of how each chapter would relate to each verse and more. One day my laptop crashed and I lost everything. Other stories, term papers, pictures and more. It physically hurt. I couldn't stomach even thinking about it. Over the years I have tried to write my own things but I keep coming back to this one. I cant move on until I complete Monster. So here it is. Rewritten because the original had lots of mistakes and holes.

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Inside one of the caves of Pride Rock, a young lioness's screams of pain bounced off the walls, creating an echo that seemed to stretch throughout the Pridelands. Her back to the entrance, she was lying on her side, her engorged belly making it impossible to thrash around like she wanted to. Her pale coat was covered in sweat and tears were streaming down her muzzle. "I can't take anymore! Make it stop!"

Another, older pale lioness was at her side, her blue eyes filled with tears, "Push, Nala. Just a little more!"

"I can't, mom! It hurts too bad!"

At her tail base, a dark beige lioness stood, "The harder you push, Nala, the faster the pain will go away."

Nala sobbed pitifully, "Mom! Please make it stop!"

The older pale lioness's tears started to fall, "I can't sweetie, you gotta push!"

The lioness at Nala's tail base looked up to the one who spoke, "Sarafina, can you handle this?"

"I won't leave her, Sarabi." Sarafina spoke over Nala's wails.

Sarabi merely nodded, "Nala, honey, you must push! If you don't get the cub out, you will die!"

Nala cried harder before gritting her teeth together. She groaned with effort as she pushed, her body shaking with pain.

"That's it, Nala! I can see the cubs head! Keep pushing!" Sarabi shouted.

Sarafina bent to speak directly into her daughter's ear, "Good girl, sweetie. Only a little more and you can rest."

Nala screamed again as she gave a final, hard push. She visibly relaxed as she felt the pain leave her body, her stomach now its normal size.

"You did good, dear, you did very, very good." Sarafina said while nuzzling her daughter. She lifted her head to Sarabi, who was cleaning the cub.

When she was finished, Sarabi looked at the cub and gave a small smile before grabbing it and showing Sarafina.

The pale one smiled ruefully before nudging her exhausted daughter, "Nala, do you want to see the baby?"

The young lioness looked into her mother's eyes, "It wasn't dead? After all I did to miscarriage, the stupid thing still lived?!"

Sarabi looked on with sad eyes as Sarafina pleaded with her daughter, "It's not the cubs fault. Please just look at it. This is your baby."

Nala looked to where Sarabi had the cub and murmured, "It doesn't look like him."

"No, it is the color of the sun. The color of the true royal bloodline." Sarafina looked at Sarabi, "Put it down to nurse."

Sarabi complied and nestled the cub close to its mother. The golden newborn nosed around before it began to suckle. Nala watched it with a look of contempt.

"What Scar did to you has nothing to do with this cub. I know you were too young, still too young, but you can't hold it against the cub. You have a responsibility to love and care for it." Sarabi wisely said.

Nala continued to stare at it as tears began to tumble from her eyes.

"Try not to think of it, dear. Try to focus on your cub." Sarafina offered.

"Its not that, mom." Nala said before sniffing, "It looks like Simba."

Sarafina's eyes widened slightly, and she looked to Sarabi.

The old queen stared at the small bundle with an apathetic face. She gave no hints as to what she was now feeling. Finally she spoke, "It bears the color of the Pridelands, a wonderful blessing from the Great Kings."

"Yes." Sarafina turned to look at Nala, "They have blessed you by not giving the cub the appearance of our _king_." She said the last word bitterly.

Nala continued to look the thing nestled beside her. "I don't even know if it's a boy or a girl."

The older pale lioness looked back to the dusty beige one, "Did you happen to get a look when you were cleaning it?"

"Yes, it is a boy."

"A boy," Sarafina murmured before speaking to Nala, "You have a son, Nala. What will you name him?"

The young lioness looked up to meet her mother's eyes, "I can choose any name I want?"

Sarafina smiled softly and nodded, before leaning down to nuzzle her grandson.

Nala looked back down to it, "Monster."

Sarafina's eyes widened and she quickly brought her head back level with Nala's, "Monster? Nala, you can't name-"

Nala whipped her head around to glare at her mother, "Why can't I?! You said I could choose whatever I wanted!"

"Nala," Sarabi softly spoke, "You cannot blame the cub for Scar's doings. He is only a baby. He is also your son."

Nala shook her head furiously, "No! He is the son of a monster! His name stays!"

Sarabi narrowed her eyes, "Just because he is Scar's does not mean he will be anything like him."

"Yes it does. That bastard's blood runs through his veins. He raped me! And _he,_ " she tilted her head toward the cub," is the result! How can anyone expect me to love it?! I want nothing to do with the thing!"

"You are now a mother. You're responsible for someone else." Sarabi replied. "I know that this is the complete opposite of how you thought it would be but the fact is that this is your life. A Pridelander lioness is strong, determined and indestructible. Its time for you to grow up and become one of us." She exchanged a look with Sarafina. "As long as you reside here, the cub is yours. You will raise him and while I cannot make you love him I can make you take care of him.." She glared at the young lioness sternly, "Now change his name."

Nala glared back at the old queen and snarled.

"Nala.." Sarafina whispered.

The two lionesses continued to glare at each other, both not willing to submit. The young mother continued her snarling while the old queen calmly stood, her tail lashing with annoyance. Finally, Nala dropped her eyes and quieted down and looked over to her son.

The more dominate lioness sighed at Nala's emotional disposition. "You have so much to learn." She looked to Sarafina, "I'll go inform Scar of the birth."

Sarafina nodded and turned her attention back to her daughter. She walked up to her and nuzzled her cheek as Sarabi padded out. "She's right, Nala."

Nala scoffed, "Sarabi isn't the queen anymore. If I didn't respect her so much, I would have told her so."

Sarafina chuckled, "You were very brave, you know. Took it better than most adults." She purred, "I'm so proud of you."

Nala smiled half-heartedly, "Thanks, mom."

Sarafina then turned to the cub. He was sleeping peacefully, his little body was nestled into Nala's. She smiled and moved to nuzzle him, "He's very cute."

Nala watched in sadness as her mother cooed at it. She didn't smile as it flipped over. She didn't get excited as it started to open its eyes.

"Look, Nala! He's opening his eyes!" The older pale lioness squealed.

Nala smiled for her mother's benefit, then frowned at the thing. The golden abomination sneezed, then slowly started to pry its eyes open.

"Come on, little one. You can do it!" Sarafina encouraged while Nala remained silent.

The cubs eyes finally opened completely, and he blinked at the new sensation. Sarafina gasped while Nala just looked away. "They are.." Sarafina started but trailed off.

"Like his. It's like looking into his eyes. Those cold, green eyes." Nala scoffed. "What a _blessing_."

Sarafina stared at them a moment longer before her ears perked at the sound of claws ticking on the cave floor. Beside her, Nala visibly stiffened. That very sound haunted her in both sleep and consciousness.

"Well, well, I finally have an heir." Scar said as he stalked near them. He walked close to Nala and reached out to lick her. "My dear, what a good job you've done."

Young Nala shook with anger and disgust. She fought back the urge to bare her teeth at him. Scar walked around her to her stomach and started to chuckle but abruptly stopped as his son came into view. He stared at it in shock before roaring in an outrage. "What is this?! He is not mine!"

He turned to Nala and snarled, "You little tramp!"

Before Nala could snap back Sarafina had gotten in Scar's face, putting her self between him and Nala. "My daughter is no tramp! You know so! She was a virgin when you took her!"

He backed away surprised before snarling, "Look at him, Sarafina! The pelt is the color of.." Scar growled as he got to the end of his sentence, not wanting to say the name of the one he loathed to no end.

"A blessing from the Great Kings!" Sarafina growled. "But look at the tuft at the end of his tail, black as the night sky. And his eyes, as green as yours. It seems the Kings couldn't bless the cub with everything."

Scar growled lowly but looked the cub over anyway. The lioness was right, black at the end of his tail, and black fur spots where a tuft would eventually grow. The king bent and looked into the eyes that mirrored his own. The cub meowed at him and batted his face playfully. The lion only stood back to his full height and looked to the lionesses. Sarafina glared at him fiercely, while Nala stared intently at the cave wall.

"It looks like you are right. The cub does seem to be mine. However, he bears the color of my father therefore he is not my heir, thus he will not be the future king. I denounce any rights and responsibilities I have to him. He is nothing to me, and he will be forced to leave when he comes of age."

Sarafina growled and was about to say something when another lioness rushed in, "Sire! Zira has just given birth!"

"Male or female?" He sneered.

"A healthy baby boy, sire." The lioness smiled.

"Ah," he grinned, "Maybe this one will be worthy enough to be my heir." He said as he padded out to visit Zira.

Sarafina was still growling as his tail slipped out of the cave. She looked back down to her daughter and moved to nuzzle her, "He's gone now, dear. It's alright. The cub is safe."

Nala picked her head up and looked at her mother before lunging into her. Surprised, Sarafina fell back into a sitting position, holding the top half of a sobbing Nala. From the cave floor, the cub could be heard meowing and searching for warmth. The older mother patted her daughter on the back, "There, there, sweetie. Everything's going to be just fine."

"No it's not, mom! Everything will never be fine! I hate it here! I hate Scar! I hate _him!_ " Nala sobbed. "I don't want to be a mother! I want to play! I want to..I want to be with Simba!"

"Oh Nala," Sarafina sighed, "Even if you hadn't given birth, you couldn't have played all day. You're an adult now, you would have to hunt with the rest of us. As for Simba…" Sarafina sighed once more before continuing, "We cannot change what has been done. Simba is gone, and he will never come back."

At the last words, Nala sobbed harder. She buried her muzzle into her mother's shoulder. She could feel the cub nuzzle itself into her back leg.

Sarafina closed her eyes, "The sooner you wrap your head around that fact, the sooner you will be able to move on."

Nala continued to sob, her leg itching to kick away the ball of fur at her feet. Eventually, she quieted down to sniffling and left her mother's paws. The small cub fell to the floor and began crying. She simply looked at it.

"Nala-" Sarafina began.

"I know, mom." She said as she bent to pick it up by the scruff and laid it down in between her paws. He looked up at her and meowed. "I have a name for you, cub. You are Aglaeca." His green eyes looked into her blue ones and he gave his first smile. His mother did not return it. "It is an old word that means monster."

"Where did you learn a word like that?" Sarafina asked with sad eyes.

Nala looked at her, "Rafiki taught it to me when I was a cub. Simba and I used to go there for-"

"For worldly lessons. I remember." Sarafina finished.

Nala bent and picked Aglaeca up and laid him between her mother's paws. "Would you watch him? I just want to go to the waterhole and rinse this sweat off me."

Sarafina gave her a quizzical look before looking outside and back to her, "It's the middle of the night."

"I know, but I stink." Nala smiled.

Sarafina relented. That little bit of humor made Nala look like the carefree cub she used to be. "Alright. Leave…Aglaeca here with me. Go on and get a bath."

Nala smiled gently and went to nuzzle her, "Thank you for everything, mom. I probably couldn't have given birth if you weren't with me."

"I love you, Nala." Sarafina nuzzled her back fiercely.

"I love you too, mom." She pulled away and padded outside. Sarafina watched her disappear before picking up the cub and carrying farther back into the cave. She laid down and placed him between her paws. Aglaeca cuddled up in her warmth and meowed happily.

"How is he?"

Sarafina looked at Sarabi as she walked up to them, a somber look upon her face. "Content. His name is Aglaeca."

"Aglaeca? What a strange name."

Sarafina chuckled humorlessly, "It means monster. Rafiki taught it to her and Simba."

"Ah. Well, at least it isn't straightforward." Sarabi bent to nuzzle the cub but jumped back when he turned to face her.

"Great Kings! He's got Scar's eyes!" Sarabi gasped.

"Yep. I'm afraid my grand cub will have a rough life. Scar denounced him because of his pelt."

Sarabi nodded, "The lionesses won't treat him well because he _is_ Scar's cub."

"And Nala hates him." Sarafina sighed.

"Things will work out Sarafina, they always do." Sarabi assured her.

Sarafina looked at her friend, then down at the cub before replying, "I think this time you may be wrong, old friend."

Aglaeca yawned and turned over facing the entrance his mother walked out of, as if he was waiting for her return.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King or "Monster" by Meg and Dia.**

This is a rewritten version of Monster. Most things will stay the same but there will be some detail changes and new lines here or there. This is being written on a tablet so bare with me with the spelling and grammatical errors! Please, enjoy!

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A bright golden cub with a tuft of black fur blinked open his emerald eyes. It was dusk outside and if he didn't want to miss anything, he'd have to get to his mother soon. He gingerly stepped outside of his lonely sleeping spot by the wall and made his way over to Nala. He watched with careful eyes as he stepped over the many sleeping bodies, making his way to his mother who was safely tucked within the prides warmth. He looked up for a brief moment to glance at the royal family. They were sprawled all over the raised stone that was the royal resting place. The king had his back to his family, while the queen and prince were snuggled together closely. Aglaeca longed for such attention from his mother. Every memory he had of her was unpleasant. She never said anything to him that she didn't have to. Never smiled at him, and his baths were painful. Nala provided the bare minimum of care to him and nothing more. She and the rest of the lionesses were always growling at him, judging him for something he could never figure out.

She hated him, they all did really. Except Sarafina and Sarabi. The only kind words ever spoken to him were from the old lionesses. Whenever they were around, everyone mostly ignored him. If someone were to growl at him one smoldering look from Sarabi would send them shuffling away. Some days ago the king assigned them to night hunts so they were always gone or asleep. Usually Aglaeca would sleep curled up beside his grandmother but now he had been banished to sleep alone by the cave wall by his mother. Since they weren't around to keep Nala in check, his treatment by her was getting worse.

Aglaeca tore his gaze away from the royal family and carried on. He carefully stepped around limbs and tails but was caught off guard by a stray tail shifting in slumber and accidentally tripped over it.

"Ooof!" He uttered as he fell face forward into the cold stone floor. He slowly sat up and put a paw up to his sore nose. "Oww." He whispered as tears welled in his eyes and dropped down his cheeks. He jumped when he heard a low growl behind him.

"Watch it, cub." A lioness glared at him with disgust and lashed her tail angrily.

Aglaeca pinned his ears to his head and turned to her to apologize. "I'm sor-rr-y, I-"

"What's going on?" Another lioness picked her head up a couple bodies away, her ears perked at the voices.

The cub looked to see many of the lionesses start to awaken. He rubbed the tears away with a small paw only to have them well up again at the throbbing pain in his nose.

"Nala's little freak just stepped on my tail." The angry lioness replied.

Aglaeca's eyes widened and he hunkered down to make himself small as the voices surrounded him.

"The little brat!"

"Stupid cub! Open your eyes before you decide to walk through the middle of the cave."

"Ugh, no manners! No respect!"

One lioness near him growled, "Why did you step on her tail? Did you think it would be funny?"

"N-n-no! I didn't m-mean to! It was an accident!" He stammered.

Many scoffed and rolled their eyes at him. Aglaeca could do nothing to stop the tears now, they dropped from his cheeks and rolled down his muzzle to hit the floor. He closed his eyes in an attempt to stop them.

"Now you're crying about it?" One sneered.

"How pathetic!" Another shouted.

Aglaeca's eyes were still closed, he tucked his ears closer to his head to try to block out the mocking voices and snickering. Then, his ears perked at a familiar voice, "What did you do now?"

Nala emerged from the throng of lionesses, an annoyed frown present.

"Mom!" Aglaeca exclaimed happily. He shot to a sitting position and gave her a toothy grin, his tears drying away.

"He stepped on my tail, Nala. Why can't you keep your brat under control?"

Nala sighed, "I'm really sorry. It won't do it again."

"He'd better not." The lioness huffed before turning over and laying her head down.

"Shut up!" The gruff voice of Zira stopped anyone else from speaking up. "Your king and prince are trying to sleep!" She snarled at them one last time before laying her head back down.

Nala looked around at the lionesses, embarrassment shinning in her blue eyes, "I'm sorry it woke you all up."

Growls, groans, and scoffs were her reply as everyone turned from her to settle back down. The young lioness looked around sadly at her sisters before glaring at her son. Aglaeca's grin slipped from his face and he hunkered down again. She began her trek towards the entrance, lashing her tail out at the cub as she went.

He flinched from the whip-like pain. He looked to the entrance and could see the sun coming up. He had missed it. The cub sighed and followed his mother sadly. He was very careful to watch where he was stepping this time. When they finally got to the opening of the cave, Nala stopped and looked at him angrily.

"Why do you always have to cause me trouble?"

"I'm sorry, mom. It was an accident! I was just trying to get to you." He pleaded from his place by her side.

She growled low in her throat before continuing her walk to the edge of the ledge, Aglaeca following close behind. She looked out into the grey savanna sadly, "They hate me because of you, you know." She murmured.

Aglaeca tentatively sat by her, "I'm sorry, mom." He whispered. He looked up at her hopefully as he said his next words, "But I don't hate you. You'll always have me."

Nala whipped her head to look at him with a snarl, "My job is to care for you until you can make it on your own. Our interaction does not and will not go past that, cub!"

Aglaeca pinned his ears to his head and curled his tail around himself.

"Why were you trying to get to me, anyway?"

The small cub perked his ears up in hope, "To see if you wanted to watch the sunrise with me."

Nala scoffed and turned her head back to the waking Pridelands, "You know the drill, cub. We wake up, I go my way and you go your way until the afternoon when I must provide you with something to eat if a hunt was successful. Then, you either go to my mother or go into your corner of the cave while I go with the pride. "

His ears fell back down and he lowered his gaze to the dusty rock beneath him, "Oh…right."

Nala sighed and began her trek down from Pride Rock, "Tell them I went to scout." She called over her shoulder.

"Okay, mom." He replied. He sighed and sniffled at his mother's retreating form. He watched her walk down the steps and into the dry land with sad eyes.

Suddenly, he heard wild laughter and jumped around to see where it was from. A hyena cub a little older than he padded up to him, slipping from her laughter and into chuckling. Aglaeca hunkered down again, submitting to her instantly, but his eyes never left its awkward form.

"Poor little cubby," The spotted animal mocked, "never to know what a mother's love is truly like."

"M-M-My mom loves me!" He replied, his eyes watching her as she got closer.

The hyena came and sat by the lion cub casually, taking the place she knew moments ago was Nala's. She looked at the cub with a smirk, "Come on, kid. If your mother loved you, she would have jumped at the chance to watch the sunrise with you."

Aglaeca sat up fully and shook his head fiercely, "She had things to do. That's what she told me, that she had been assigned a mission for the day and-"

"Cut the crap, kid!" The hyena growled. Aglaeca slumped a little and tightened his tail around him before the hyena continued, "I saw the whole thing between you two."

A shocked look took over the cub's face briefly before it faded into shame. He mumbled, "You saw?"

"Sure did." She chimed. "The name's Amri." She puffed out her chest proudly and looked down her nose at him.

His face scrunched up in confusion. "Amri? But isn't that a-"

"Boy's name? Since when is a name defined by a gender?" Amri shot back defensively. Her bangs fell over one eye and her upper lip was raised.

Aglaeca blinked at her, "Um..n-no. My name's-"

"Aglaeca. Everyone knows the pride scape goat." Amri relaxed and blew her bangs out of her eyes.

The golden cub lifted one ear up normally while the other stayed pinned to his head in a confused expression. "Scape goat?"

"Ah, that's not important." Amri replied while she waved her paw at him, "I have a plan to make your mom love ya."

Both ears shot up at her words, "Really?" A toothy grin spread across his face at the thought of his mother loving him. How great it would be to see her smile at him, or just to say his name.

The hyena cub grinned, "Uh huh."

Aglaeca's delighted expression slipped from his face and was replaced with a suspicious glare, "Why are you helping me? You're a hyena, and I'm a lion, our kind don't help each other."

Amri shrugged and got up to leave, calling over her shoulder, "If you don't want my help, then fine."

Aglaeca bit his lip and looked out to where he thought his mother to be before crying out, "Wait! Please, come back!"

The little she-hyena smirked before turning around, "Change ya mind, did ya?"

"Yes." He answered reluctantly. Whatever the hyena's motive, he wanted Nala to love him. More than anything. No risk would be too great.

"Awesome! Follow me, goldy." She exclaimed as she trotted her way over to the steps of Pride Rock.

"That's not my name, it's Aglaeca remember?" He called out as he ran to catch up.

She stopped at the beginning of the path down Pride Rock as he caught up to her, "I know. Goldy is your new nickname."

"I don't know what a nickname is." He stated bluntly.

"Are you serious? Do you live under a rock or something?" Amri questioned.

"No not under, kind of inside one."

Amri stared at him in disbelief. "That was a joke."

"Oh," He replied, "It wasn't funny. That was a terrible joke."

She blinked at him and shook her head slightly and began walking down the path.

Aglaeca followed behind her, thinking about what it would be like to finally have his mothers love and how Amri needed to come up with better jokes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King or "Monster" by Meg and Dia**

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Aglaeca and Amri looked out to where the various herds were grazing. They knew that- somewhere- the hunting party was in the process of picking the two animals they would bring down.

"Are you sure this will work?" Aglaeca asked softly. He and Amri were sitting under the shade of a giant tree, looking out in to the yellow grasses of the savannah.

"'Course it will!" Amri declared proudly. "I thought of it, after all."

The two had spent the whole morning going over her brilliant plan. It took some time to wrap Aglaeca's mind around things, but she eventually won him over. It wasn't much of a surprise to Amri though, it was rare that things didn't go her way.

"Are you positive?"

"Yeah!" Amri turned to him with a growl, "Now listen up!" She whipped her heard around to point out the moving grass, "There! That's the hunting party!"

He squinted against the sun and peered out. "I see it. Looks like they're headed for the herd of zebra." He murmured before turning back to her, "What now?"

Amri smirked, "Now, you go out there and help bring it down."

Aglaeca's ears flattened, "But when?"

"Now! Ya gotta go out there and be the first one to pounce!" She answered enthusiastically. "When Nala sees you trying to help hunt, she'll be beamin' with pride!"

The lion's ears perked and his face lit up with hope, "And she'll love me."

She nodded once and tilted her head towards the savannah grass in a 'go on' motion.

Aglaeca gave her a small smile before bounding out, the thought of his mother's love giving him a boost of bravery. The golden blur raced through the grass with a determined look. Amri was right, his mother would surely love him after this! How could she not? He was helping hunt!

Encouraged even more by this thought, he ran faster.

After all this time, his mom would finally love him! She'd probably even let him eat with her! Maybe even sleep at her side! Oh, how nice it would be to get out of that cold and lonely corner sleeping spot.

Distracted, the little cub ran without paying attention to where he was going. He had the air knocked out of him as he collided with a sturdy leg. The impact forced him back on his rear, his tuft of jet black fur falling into his eyes. He huffed and attempted to blow it back into its normal spot.

Aglaeca jumped at the sound of a whinny, his ears shot down and he was instantly filled with fear to see the hooves of a zebra above him. The image of it kicking its forelegs reflected in the cub's wide eyes.

Aglaeca couldn't move. He knew that he should be running, but he was too afraid. His entire focus was on the zebra's descending hooves.

"Don't just sit there like an idiot! Run, Aglaeca!" Amri cried out desperately from her place on the sidelines.

The sound of his new friend's voice brought Aglaeca's mind back to him. He blinked out of his stupor before darting forward quickly to escape the sharp hooves. The golden cub ran through the animal's back legs and in to the heart of the herd. He ran through legs, between zebra families and in front of newly walking foals. Before long, the whole herd had picked up on the little lion's panic and had begun racing to a different area. Aglaeca ran against them, trying his best to weave around the oncoming slew of legs.

"Aglaeca!" Amri called, worried. She scanned the panicked herd for any trace of her golden friend.

Aglaeca continued to run against the never-ending herd of prey. Adrenaline pumped through his body and spurred him to keep going. He gave a strangled yelp as he slipped into a dark space. The poor cub clawed at the dirt in renewed fear before realizing he had tripped in to an empty warthog den.

Panting heavily, the lion collapsed on the cool dirt. He listened as the hooves pounded the ground around him. As relief and exhaustion settled over him at the same time, he wondered if Nala had seen him. She would have come to save, wouldn't she? And Amri, her plan was perfect and he messed it up. He let out a disappointed sigh as his thoughts tumbled through his mind.

When he could hear nothing around him, Aglaeca slowly got up and peaked out into the savannah. When he was sure it was clear, he tiptoed out of the den and looked around for any signs of the hunting party or Amri.

He was once again startled into fear as a lioness leapt at him and roared. He shrunk to the ground and lowered his ears in a submissive pose as she growled above him.

"What have you done! You scared away the herd!"

He shook as Nala bared her teeth at him. He never noticed how big her teeth were until just now. He curled his tail tight around himself and whimpered.

Infuriated, Nala swiped at him, "Answer me!"

Tears spilled from the young cub's eyes as he looked up at his angry mother, "I-I'm sorry mom! I didn't mean to scare them away! I w-was only trying to h-help you!"

"You call rushing up to a zebra and headbutting its leg helping?!" Nala breathed hard with anger, her tail lashing.

"Y-you mean, "He stammered, "you saw the whole thing?"

"The whole hunting party watched your little show!"

"H-How come no one came to help me?"

Nala rolled her eyes, "You got yourself into it so as far as I'm concerned you could get yourself out. We weren't about to endanger ourselves to get to _you_!"

Aglaeca sobbed loudly, "I just wanted you to be proud of me! I thought that if I helped you with the hunt that you would be— "

"Well you thought wrong!" She snarled. She felt nothing but hatred towards the thing that was her son. "Thanks to you, the lionesses want nothing to do with me!"

Aglaeca shrunk back as his mother's voice got louder. He pinned his ears to his head in shame. "I'm sor- "

"Shut up!" She shouted. "I was supposed to be making up for the fuss you caused this morning by bringing down a zebra on my own! But now, you've ruined everything! _Again!_ " The pale lioness roared at him again. She was so full of anger. She was angry at him for ruining her hunt. She was angry at him for turning her mother and Sarabi against her. She was angry at him because he was alive. She was angry at him because of what Scar did to her.

She lifted a paw and unsheathed her claws, preparing to get rid of the thing that had caused her so much pain. He closed his eyes and sobbed harder.

Just as she was about to carry out the deed, Sarabi's words rung out through her memory:

" _As long as you reside here, the cub is yours. You will raise him and while I cannot make you love him, I can make you take care of him."_

She could end its life, right here, right now. No one would be ever the wiser. The lionesses had left her and her mother and Sarabi were at Pride Rock fast asleep. It was just her, and this _monster_.

She bared her fangs - this was it. After today, everything would end. Her pride would grow to accept her again, her mother and Sarabi will dote on her like they used to. And best of all, she would never have to look at this thing again. This constant reminder of what happened to her.

A snarl erupted from her as she longed to sink her teeth into him. Aglaeca cried out in fear as Nala moved to bite him and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing?!"

Nala's head snapped up to meet the eyes of Amri. The hyena pup charged toward her, authority exuding with every stride. "Go away, hyena. This doesn't concern you."

Amri glared at her as she come to a stop behind Aglaeca. She wasn't afraid of her, she was Shenzi's daughter and the next matriarch. This lion wouldn't dare to hurt her.

"I don't take orders from anyone. I am the daughter of Shenzi, second in command to King Scar." She furrowed her brow, "Aglaeca is my friend. Anything that concerns him, concerns me. So, why don't you do to me what you're doing to him, huh?"

Nala growled, just her luck. Of course it would have made friends with the enemy - like father like spawn. She knew that if any harm came to the hyena, she would die. The pack would kill Nala, and only her mother would try to stop it. She eyed her rejected cub with such hate that he shrank back from her. Amri stepped around him to put herself between the two. "Well?" She taunted.

Nala answered by turning and making her way back to Pride Rock. There was nothing she could do, it would have to live. For now.

Aglaeca slowly sat up as his mother stormed away. Still shaking from fear, he desperately called to her, "I just wanted you to love me! That's all I've ever wanted!"

At that, the lioness stopped. Aglaeca had to strain to hear her as she softly said, "From the moment you were born, I've hated you. That fact will never change. I can never love you, because I will always hate you."

He stared at her in shock as she resumed her walk home. He tried to hold back a sob but failed miserably. Amri placed her arm around him and he turned to cry into her fur. "What did I do? Why does she hate me?"

"I don't know." She replied sadly. He cried harder at her words. "Go ahead and get all out. You'll feel a lot better afterwards."

The two sat there until Aglaeca couldn't cry anymore. He pulled away from Amri and stared at the ground sadly. "Thank you. If you weren't here, she would have..."

"I know. "The hyena pup looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things worse."

"You didn't, you made me see the truth. Mom is never guna love me. I can stop trying now."

"But," She started with a small smile, "you have me now. I promise to always be your friend."

He returned her smile. "I've never had a friend before."

"To be honest, I've never had one either." She helped him up and the duo started making their way back home. Aglaeca wondered if this was the way Nala had went too.

Once they had reached the steps of Pride Rock, Amri spoke, "I'm guna go to the den my mom and I share. Do you want me to walk ya up there first?"

"Where is that? Your cave, I mean."

"It's a cave inside Pride Rock, there's a back entrance I take. It used to be the lair of the lion guard."

"What's the lion guard?" He asked.

"Bunch of lions that patrol the Pride Lands. They ain't here anymore though." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh. Well, I'll be okay. My grandma is up there, so I'll see you later?"

"Definitely, see ya Goldy!"

Aglaeca watched as she walked away before looking up to Pride Rock nervously. He could still see his mother above him, ready to end his life. He hesitated briefly but the longing for his grandma ultimately won out as he hopped his way up. As he stepped onto the main platform, he felt the eyes of the pride on him. Looking up, he saw them together with a kill. The king and his family weren't there, but that wasn't unusual. They liked to have their privacy during the day, kicking everyone out until nightfall.

He silently searched for his grandma and found her laying off to the side with Sarabi. He tentatively made his way over, "Hey grandma."

As soon as Sarafina heard his voice, she gave him a loving smile and held her paws open, "Where have you been all morning? Are you hungry?"

His stomach growled at the thought. "Yes ma'am."

She chuckled, "Well go on over and ask your mother for some food."

He froze at her words. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore. "Never mind. I'm not really hungry."

"Your stomach just growled." Sarabi lifted her head curiously and looked at him with suspicious eyes. "Did something happen with your mother?"

"N-No." He stammered and averted his gaze.

Sarabi narrowed her eyes. "Aglaeca, what happened. Why don't you want to go over and ask for food?"

"I'm just not hungry, Ms. Sarabi. I promise that's all."

The two old lionesses shared a look before Sarafina got up, "Come with me." She motioned for the cub to follow her.

"Nala," She called to her daughter who was sitting outside a gaggle of lionesses.

"What do you two want." Her daughter huffed.

"Your son needs something to eat."

She rolled her eyes and started toward the kill but stopped as a lioness leveled her with a hard glare. "I don't think he deserves anything after today's fiasco."

Aglaeca lowered his ears and shrunk behind his grandmother.

Sarafina glared at the younger lioness, "I don't think it's up to you, Tesi. Don't be as petty as to suggest that he shouldn't eat because he stepped on your tail this morning. Now leave my daughter alone."

"I wasn't referring to that. He messed up our hunt earlier. Its only because of some quick thinking we have anything at all to eat. That freak needs to learn that his actions have consequences." Tesi glared at her. Unlike the others, she didn't hold much respect for Sarafina or Sarabi. Their time had passed and- in her eyes - they had no say so. In time, she would convince her sisters to see that.

"What is she talking about?" Sarafina asked Nala.

Nala started to speak when Tesi interrupted, "He chased away a whole herd of zebra!"

Sarabi, overhearing, walked up to stand at Sarafina's side. She dipped her head to speak to Aglaeca, "What on earth were you doing on the hunting grounds? You could have gotten hurt!"

"What about the food we lost? Do you even care about that?"

Sarabi looked up to meet Tesi's glare. "Watch your tongue, young one. Remember your place."

Tesi snarled quietly and lowered her eyes. Someday, she would take pleasure in shoving her off her pedestal.

"Go on, sweetheart." Sarafina encouraged.

Aglaeca stepped from behind his grandmother's legs to face them nervously, "I was going to help them hunt. I was just trying to help, but I ran into a zebra on accident. Then I found an empty den to hide in."

The old lionesses faces softened and they smiled. "Oh, my little one," Sarafina started, "that's very sweet of you, but you're much too small to take down any big prey. Especially a zebra. One kick from their hooves can kill you."

Aglaeca flinched at the thought. "I promise to never do it again."

"Why don't you tell them who you were with." Nala spat. "After everything was over, I was yelling at it and a HYENA came to defend him." She smiled with satisfaction as her mother's expression shifted to one of horror.

"What?!" Sarabi snapped. "What were you doing with a hyena?!"

Aglaeca shrunk at her tone. He gulped, "She came up to me this morning. But she's really nice! And we hung out together before she told me about going hunting- "

"The hyena gave you the idea to hunt?" Sarafina questioned him before turning to Sarabi, "That explains it. That vermin manipulated Aglaeca, he would have never thought to do that on his own. "

"It wasn't just any hyena." Nala said evenly, disappointed her mother was once again taking that things side. "He was with the daughter of Shenzi."

"Shenzi?!" Tesi echoed. "Scar probably sent her to ruin our hunt!"

The other lionesses voiced their agreement and outrage. Sarabi caught the eye of several who were baring their teeth at the cub. "We don't know that, and besides, Scar wouldn't do that. Why would he sabotage his own dinner? You're all just making assumptions."

"Come on, Sarabi." Tesi snorted. "You know Zira takes her friends to do extra hunts. It doesn't matter if we don't get anything because she'll make sure he eats." She lifted her head a little higher as her sisters murmured their support.

"She's right, Sarabi. "One of the lionesses offered.

"Yeah," Another replied, "Zira has no care for the circle of life."

"Like Scar does?" Nala spat. Tesi turned to the young female and smiled. Nala returned it thinking she was finally being let in.

"That's enough! Scar is our king whether we like it or not. As Pridelanders, it is our duty to uphold the law that the great kings have set. With patience— "

Tesi scoffed loudly, interrupting Sarabi. "The great kings have abandoned us. When Scar took the throne, they turned away from us."

"That's not true Tesi," Sarabi replied softly. She knew they felt betrayed, but many of them were too young to really understand how things worked. Their ancestors could not just snap their fingers and make things better. "They will intervene when the time is right. "

"And when will the time be right? When we've starved to death? When the rest of us are forced to have that monsters cubs? When the Pride Lands complexly die and the herds move away?!" Tesi shouted angrily. Her upper lip peeled back little by little to reveal her sharp canines as she spoke, "The great kings are NOTHING! They don't exist! It was just some stupid story a mother told her cub that we've foolishly believed all these years. If they were real, they would have never allowed Scar to take the throne."

Sarafina pulled Aglaeca under the safety of her belly as Tesi shouted. She watched Sarabi's muscles pinch warily and wondered how long her friend would keep her composure.

"You speak in anger. The great kings ARE with us. I couldn't even begin to make it through each day if Mufasa weren't—"Sarabi was unable to finish as Tesi scoffed.

"Mufasa is dead. He's not guiding you, you old fool. Wherever he's at now, he's not thinking of you or— "

The lionesses surrounding Tesi parted as Sarabi charged them. She tackled the younger lioness to the ground and snarled in her face. Tesi blinked away the shock in her eyes and snarled in return. "Get – "She stopped speaking as Sarabi stepped on her throat.

"Stop talking." Sarabi growled at her before lifting her head to address her pride. "Listen to me." Her voice thundered around them, causing everyone to subconsciously lower their heads in submission. "Just because times are hard doesn't mean we turn our back on our ancestors. In life, there are good times and there are bad times. Things are not always easy, and in the bad times we must keep our heads high and remember who we are." Her tail lashed angrily as she continued, still on top of the young lioness. "We are the lionesses of the Pride Lands. We are stronger than any other, we fiercely protect our own and we respect those who have come before us. The Great Kings will not leave us, they probably have things in motion as we speak."

The pride looked hopeful at Sarabi, all feeling invigored by the words of their old queen. They rallied around her and basked in a long-lost camaraderie that vanished after Mufasa died. Even Nala inched closer as a smile tugged on her lips, Sarabi speech instilling a nostalgic feeling from her cubhood.

"Have faith, sisters. Things will come into place soon enough. And you, "She looked back down to Tesi and bared her teeth, "Stop trying to climb the ranks and start caring for those around you. When you stop thinking of only yourself, then maybe you can take my place."

Sarabi snarled at her one last time and then stepped off into her pride. They all chattered happily to her, following her to the kill. Tesi sat up, humiliated. She pinned her ears to her head and stared angrily after them. She whipped her head around at the sound of a growl to see Nala staring after them too.

The creamy youth had been entranced with Sarabi and was moving along with her sisters until Sarafina caught her eye. Her mother was ushering Aglaeca after them, bumping his bottom forward playfully. Envy swam in her eyes as she watched the two, wishing her mother would pay her the same attention. She thought of how the only one Sarafina seemed to care for anymore was that _thing_. She barely had any contact with Nala unless it was to tell her to do something for that stupid cub. When he entered the world, Nala was kicked out of her mother's heart.

"Hey," Tesi quietly called out. "why didn't you go with the others?"

Nala scowled, " I can't stand to watch my mother with that _thing_." Her shoulders slumped as she continued on sadly, "It's like she doesn't even care about me anymore."

Tesi moved to sit by her, "I'm sure your mother cares for you, you are her daughter."

"Ever since that monster came out of me all she's cared about was him. Making sure that I am doing everything for him and still being a 'Pridelander lioness'." Nala let out a long sigh, "I just wish things could go back to how the used to be."

"Before Scar ruined our home." Tesi spat. "I hate him."

"Me too." The younger lioness's claws gripped the ground as she muttered, "He put that stupid cub in me, which has made my life hell. And he's a constant reminder of-"

Tesi watched as Nala's eyes welled with tears. She let out a sob before continuing, "No matter how hard I try, I can't escape that night."

"Nala, " Tesi put an arm around her. "I'm sorry for how the pride has treated you. We got so caught up in our hate that we weren't there for you when you needed us. All we could see was that you had a cub with Scar." She held her tightly as Nala sobbed, "What Scar did was unforgivable. From now on, I'll keep you with me. He will never have the chance to hurt you again."

"'I'm just...I'm scared." Nala replied between sobs. "Whenever he comes around, or if I hear his claws on the rocks, I get so scared. I don't want him to hurt me again."

Tesi sighed. She felt so much shame in blocking Nala out from the pride. Maybe Sarabi was right about her. She cares too much for herself. "I'm so sorry. I promise, sweetie, that is not going to happen to you again. Your one of us, and we will rally around you."

"I thought you all hated me."

"From now on, you're my little sister." Tesi gave her a small smile and nuzzled her, "You won't be alone anymore, Nala. I will always be here to protect you."

* * *

Hello again!

YMAW


End file.
